The UAB John J.Sparkman Center for International Public Health Education was established in 1979 with a congressional appropriation through USAID in honor of the late U.S. Senator John J. Sparkman of Alabama. The fundamental spirit behind the establishment of the center was to recognize the Senator's global vision of health and its impact on human well being as well as his vision for the role of the United States in assisting other countries in addressing their health issues.
AN OVERVIEW OF THE SPARKMAN CENTER HISTORY (1979 - 2007)
1979
The Trustees of the University of Alabama at Birmingham endorse the concept of establishing an International Public Health Education Center (IPHEC) to be based in the Department of Public Health (now the School of Public Health.) The Sparkman Center is established by congressional appropriation to UAB in order to honor Senator John J. Sparkman from Alabama upon his retirement.
1981
Dr. Juan M. Navia is appointed the Director of the Sparkman Center, and the Internal and External Advisory Committees are formed.
1982
Collaborative agreement with the World Health Organization (WHO) produces a Manual on Health Education in Primary Health Care, a training manual for primary health care workers.
1983
The SparkmanCenter Newsletter founded. The newsletter, a quarterly publication with a circulation of more than 500, was the primary means of news dissemination of Center activities through 1997. Collaborative program initiated at the University of the West Indies (UWI) in Kingston, Jamaica.
The Sparkman Center and the Department of Social and Preventative Medicine at UWI begin collaborating on public health education and training activities in the Caribbean. These include the development and support of an MPH program at UWI which began in the fall of 1985 and a series of short courses in epidemiology for District Medical Officers and other key public health personnel in Jamaica.
1984
Program at Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia (UPCH) initiated in Lima, Peru. Sparkman and UPCH worked together to develop an academic public health program at UPCH. Towards this goal, UAB faculty teach an MPH degree program in Lima (1984-1986) for 20 UPCH faculty who began their own public health program (with tracks in public health nutrition, family health, and tropical medicine and infectious disease) at UPCH in 1987.
The publication Education for Health, a semiannual newsletter in English, French, and Spanish for health educators and primary health care workers is developed.
1985
The Sparkman Center, the International Union of Health Education, and other international organizations sponsor an international conference on health education in Mexico City, Mexico. Collaboration begins with the Universidad del Valle (UV) in Cali, Colombia.
The Sparkman Center and the Department of Social Medicine at UV worked to enhance and develop programs at UV in social sciences, biostatistics, and occupational health. Faculty development activities included short courses in industrial hygiene, occupational medicine and health, and advanced biostatistics. A conference on "The Application of Social Sciences in Health Programs" involved faculty from UV, UPCH, and UAB as well as external experts was held health in 1987 in Lima, Peru.
1986
Program initiated at Chiang Mai University (CMU) in Chiang Mai, Thailand. The Sparkman Center, WHO, CMU Faculty of Dentistry, and the Intercountry Centre for Oral Health in Chiang Mai develop training programs for public health dentists from Southeast Asia. The program included an MPH degree program offered in Thailand by UAB faculty in 1987-88 and a series of workshops and short courses on topics including preventive dentistry, microcomputer applications for dental practice and research, and alternative oral health care models.
As a result of these activities, the Sparkman Center was involved in discussions with CMU regarding the development of an interdisciplinary MPH degree program. Discussions were also initiated with the School of Public Health at Mahidol University regarding a dental public health track in the already established MPH program in Bangkok.
Program at UWI in Kingston, Jamaica graduates its first class of MPH students.
UPCH graduates a class of students who organized their own MPH programs as noted above (see in 1984).
The International Health Forum Series established in conjunction with the UAB Department of Public Health Sciences.
1987
The Sparkman Center initiated the Sparkman Network to offer former collaborating institutions an opportunity to continue to work with the Center and other former collaborators in health manpower development activities.
1988
The Sparkman Center is named a WHO/PAHO Collaborating Center for Manpower Development with emphasis in public health, administration, and epidemiology. Discussions initiated with a number of international health agencies and institutions to develop training programs in these areas.
The Cali, Colombia program at UV is extended for one year.
The Sparkman Center began publication of the SparkmanCenter Series in International Health, a series of monographs related to Center activities. The first issue, "Aplicaciones de las ciencias sociales en programas de salud," (Applications of the Social Sciences to Health Programs) contained the proceedings of the Center-sponsored conference of the same name that was held in Lima, Peru in collaboration with UV and UPCH.
1989
MPH students graduate from the program in Chiang Mai, Thailand and organize an MPH program in dental public health, and engage in the development of an interdisciplinary MPH degree program (see 1986).
1990
An interdisciplinary, one-year MPH-degree program under the direction of CMU Graduate School, the Faculties of Dentistry, Medicine, Nursing and Pharmacy, and the CMU Institute for Health Sciences Research begins with enrollment of 26 students (including nurses, dentists, physicians, and public health workers) at CMU (see 1986).
The Sparkman Center, the UAB School of Public Health, and Mahidol University Faculty of Medicine (MU-FPH) in Bangkok, Thailand sign a three-year collaborative agreement. The areas of collaboration included dental public health, public health nutrition, epidemiology, public health administration and planning, and primary health care. Activities included support for the new MPH track in dental public health and the development of an international dental public health MPH program at MU-FPH, exchange of public health faculty and staff, exchange of public health students for academic work and field training, development of joint research activities, and provision of consultation and information exchange.
The Sparkman Center in conjunction with the UAB-SOPH applies for membership to the Asia-Pacific Academic Consortium for Public Health (APACPH). SCIPHE/UAB-SOPH membership to APACPH is approved at its Board of Director's meeting in Kathmandu, Nepal in December 1990.
1991
The Center purchases equipment (freeze-frame or slow-scan television and interactive audio) for distance teaching programs. The equipment is housed in the UAB School of Nursing.
In June, faculty in the Toxicology Program of the UAB SOPH's Department of Environmental Health Sciences meet on behalf of SOPH-Sparkman Center with officials of Charles University (CU) in Prague, Czechoslovakia to discuss possible collaboration. CU and UAB sign a general university linkage agreement in July.
The Sparkman Center and PAHO/WHO reach an agreement to finalize a three-to-five-year collaborative program in Occupational Health Education and Training in the English-speaking Caribbean.
Distance Teaching Program initiated with the first teleconference for UAB School of Public Health students on "Disaster Preparedness" presented by UWI (Jamaica) faculty and Jamaican experts.
1992
Department of Social Medicine, UV in Colombia initiates MPH track in Occupational Health.
The Sparkman Center and the Department of Preventative Dentistry, School of Stomatology, Beijing Medical University, People's Republic of China initiated a collaborative program in dental public health. The program focuses on faculty development and promotion of joint research.
1993
Dr. José Alvarez, professor in the Department of ___, is appointed the Interim Director of the Center upon Dr. Navia's retirement.
1994
A collaborative agreement with the International Centre for Diarrheal Diseases Research, Bangladesh (ICDDRB) is signed. Dr. M. A. Khaled, Associate Professor at UAB, is stationed at ICDDRB as Micronutrients/Vitamin A & Child Health Senior Technical Advisor in Residence.
1995
In January, the 5-year collaborative agreement with ICDDRB officially goes into effect.
The Sparkman Center supports a pilot UAB AIDS Training and Research Program (UAB-AITRP) in Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Mongolia, funded by the National Institutes of Health, Fogarty International Center.
Collaborative agreement with the Center for Studies of Sensory Impairment, Aging and Metabolism (CeSSIAM) in Guatemala City, Guatemala is signed.
The Minority International Research Training (MIRT) Grant (a three-year $1 million grant) is funded by the National Institutes of Health with Dr. Alvarez as Principal Investigator.
International Health Dinner Series in collaboration with the Division of Geographic Medicine, UAB School of Medicine, initiated.
1996
A collaborative agreement is signed with el Instituto de Investigacion Nutricional (IIN), Lima, Peru.
The Sparkman Center sponsors the Gorgas Course in Clinical and Tropical Medicine at Instituto de Medicina Tropical at UPCH Lima, Peru. The collaborating partners include the Gorgas Memorial Institute of Tropical and Preventive Medicine, Inc., the UAB Division of Geographic Medicine, and the Department of International Health.
1997
The Sparkman Center initiates a program to sponsor graduate students in the School of Public Health for international public health training and research in developing countries.
Dr. Charles Stephensen of _____ appointed Interim Center Director upon Dr. Alvarez's sabbatical leave.
1998
The Sparkman Center Scholar's Program initiated. Faculty and doctoral students in the Department of International Health are supported for international public health research and training in developing countries.
1999
In May, Dr. Sten H. Vermund, UAB Professor of Epidemiology and Director of the Department of Geographic Medicine, is appointed as the Sparkman Center Director after a national search.
Throughout its history, the Sparkman Center has sponsored various seminars and lectures in international public health, and Sparkman scholars have engaged in collaborative research with international scientists.
2000
During 2000-2001, the Sparkman Center reviewed its collaborative options in a number of nations. Five nations were chosen for the long-term partnerships: Zambia, Jamaica, Peru, Ukraine, and Russia.
2001
The Sparkman Center held its inaugural Annual Symposium on March 9, 2001. The objective of the symposium, entitled “Global Capacity Building in Public Health: Sparkman Center 20th Anniversary Symposium,” was to highlight 20 years of Sparkman activities in global public health capacity building.
The Sparkman Center held its First Annual International Summer Institute, July 16 through August 10. Thirty-five health professionals from the following countries attended: Russia, Pakistan, Ukraine, Republic of Georgia, Mongolia, India, China, Lithuania, and Canada.
The Sparkman Center began a monthly seminar series entitled the Sparkman Center Seminar Series in Global Health to provide a forum for UAB faculty, staff, and students to present and discuss their research, training, educational, and/or service efforts on public health issues of global significance.
2002
Long-term, goal-oriented partnerships were established with four institutions for the purpose of building public health education and research programs with UAB. The partnerships included the University of the West Indies in Kingston, Jamaica; Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia in Lima, Peru; Pirogov Medical University in Vinnitsa, Ukraine; and the University of Zambia in Lusaka, Zambia.
Dr. Sheila Andrus, of the UAB Department of Environmental Health Science, is appointed Deputy Center Director.
2003
Sparkman Center held its first collaborative conference with SIFAT (Servants in Faith and Technology/Southern Institute for Appropriate Technology). Sparkman and SIFAT organized a Safe Motherhood conference entitled, “The State of the World’s and Alabama’s Mothers 2003”.
2004
The UAB Board of Trustees approved the name change from the John J. Sparkman Center for International Public Health Education to the Sparkman Center for Global Health.
2005
The Center initiated a partnership with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for a Global Health Framework Program (Dr. John Ehiri, PI), that has resulted in a significant increase in UAB’s capacity for global health education, research, and service.
A record of 15 seminars were sponsored, several in collaboration with SIFAT.
2006
Dr. Nalini Sathiakumar, of the UAB Department of Epidemiology, is appointed Interim Director of the Sparkman Center.
2007
Dr. Craig Wilson, of the UAB Department of Pediatrics in the UAB School of Medicine, is appointed Director of the Sparkman Center.
